Penza, 15 May 2013. PenzaNews. The opening of the regional center of the presidential library named after Boris Yeltsin in Penza regional library named after M. Lermontov gave the residents of the region an opportunity to use 250 thousand copies of digitized books on the history of the Russian state, including rare books and archival documents. This was stated by the representative of the press service of the presidential library Olga Erofeeva.

She noted that the agreement signed between the government of the Penza region and the presidential library provides for the joint organization of cultural and educational activities for the citizens on the history, theory and practice of the Russian statehood using the funds of the national electronic archive.

“Regional cooperation also provides for accumulation of digitized copies of documents, pictures and other materials from museums located in the Penza region. This means that we are going to continue digitizing regional local history publications. As a result, the documents, which used to be kept in small regional archives, will become available to Russian and foreign offices of the library, as well as to the Internet users. Part of archival materials on the history of the Penza region has already been published on the website of the presidential library,” the agency interlocutor explained.

Presidential Library named after Boris Yeltsin is one of the three national libraries of Russia, which collects and stores in digital form printed and archival documents, audio and video recordings, and other materials which reflect the long history of the Russian state, the theory and practice of law, as well as the Russian language.

The main task of the library is to provide free public access to the cultural heritage of Russia in digital format, including sources previously inaccessible to wide audience.

In accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated June 18, 2007, library branches should be established in all regions of the Russian Federation.